In a vehicle in which an output rotation of the internal combustion engine is transmitted to drive wheels via a torque converter having a lockup clutch, and a stepped automatic transmission, for example, the following method is employed to suppress fuel consumption. Specifically, if an accelerator pedal is released during a vehicle running, the lockup clutch is unlocked, and a fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is stopped.
As a rotation speed of the internal combustion engine decreases as a result of stopping the fuel supply, the fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is resumed. Stopping the fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is called a “fuel-cut,” and resumption of the fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is called a “fuel recovery” or simply a “recovery.”
In order to prevent a difference of timings between a fuel recovery operation and a lockup clutch unlock operation from generating a torque shock, JP 2006-015819 A, published by The Japan Patent Office in 2006, proposes to apply a regenerative braking at the time of the fuel recovery operation.